Here is a sad story. Happened last night.
Pray for the family of the little boy and his family.
SAN DIEGO — An 8-year-old boy was killed and five others were injured, some seriously, when a Coast Guard vessel responding to an emergency call struck a pleasure boat during the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights Sunday night, authorities and witnesses said.
The 33-foot Coast Guard vessel hit the smaller, 24-foot boat, which had 13 people on board, about 6 p.m. near Harbor Island, said Jetta Disco, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
“We heard them saying ‘Watch out’ and ‘Oh my God,’ ” said Breck Schoch, an eyewitness. “They had half a second warning before the thing hit.”
No one was thrown into the water, Schoch said, and both boats later made it to shore under their own power. The child was taken to Harbor Island, where paramedics performed CPR before he was transferred by ambulance to UCSD Medical Center, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The boy later died, authorities said. His identity has not been made public.
Five more people were taken to the dock behind the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island, where four of them were treated by paramedics before they were taken by ambulance to a hospital, the spokesman said.
The fifth injured person was treated by paramedics on Shelter Island. The five people taken to the hospital were considered “major traumas,” Luque said.
The thoughts and prayers of many Coast Guard personnel were with those affected by this tragic incident, the local commander said in a statement.
“We, along with other agencies: the San Diego Fire Department, the San Diego Harbor Police and the NTSB will conduct a thorough investigation to try to determine what led to this tragedy and what can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Capt. Tom Farris, San Diego sector commander, said in a statement.
The accident occurred during one of San Diego’s longest-running and highest-profile holiday events. More than 80,000 people had been expected to watch the 38th annual procession of lighted boats from anchored vessels and from the shore.
Eyewitness Sandy Fenten was sitting on the Harbor Island shoreline near The Boathouse restaurant when she saw a vessel with its emergency lights flashing speeding on the bay toward downtown San Diego. The boat then turned around and headed back toward Shelter Island when it crashed into the pleasure boat.
“All of a sudden, you heard this tremendous thud or crash,” said Fenten, who moved to the area about a year ago. It was her first boat parade.
“It was going really fast and there were a lot of boats anchored in that area,” Fenten said.
Schoch, who was on the bay with his own boat and a passenger, said he went to to the area to help. Schoch said he used a flashlight to flag down a Sea Tow boat and helped some of the injured people get on it. He said the captain of the damaged pleasure boat kept asking: “How is my son? How is my son?”
The boat was among a dozen anchored on the bay to view the parade. Authorities could not immediately confirm if the boat was moving or anchored at the time of the accident. The parade was delayed for some time while authorities helped the injured.
Initial reports indicate that the five crew members on the Coast Guard vessel were not hurt, Disco said. The Coast Guard boat was responding to a report of a grounded vessel at the time of the accident, she said.
The 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Haddock, that was in the bay for the parade, helped treat some of the injured and took some of them to shore, Disco said.
The damaged pleasure boat was in dry dock Sunday night at a boatyard on Shelter Island and was surrounded by police. While damage to the hull was not immediately visible, it appeared that the boat’s canopy was torn off and hanging to one side.
The parade route started near Shelter Island and went around the bay before the vessels turned around at the San Diego-Coronado Bridge before reaching the finish line near the Coronado Ferry Landing.
Pray for the family of the little boy and his family.
SAN DIEGO — An 8-year-old boy was killed and five others were injured, some seriously, when a Coast Guard vessel responding to an emergency call struck a pleasure boat during the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights Sunday night, authorities and witnesses said.
The 33-foot Coast Guard vessel hit the smaller, 24-foot boat, which had 13 people on board, about 6 p.m. near Harbor Island, said Jetta Disco, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
“We heard them saying ‘Watch out’ and ‘Oh my God,’ ” said Breck Schoch, an eyewitness. “They had half a second warning before the thing hit.”
No one was thrown into the water, Schoch said, and both boats later made it to shore under their own power. The child was taken to Harbor Island, where paramedics performed CPR before he was transferred by ambulance to UCSD Medical Center, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The boy later died, authorities said. His identity has not been made public.
Five more people were taken to the dock behind the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island, where four of them were treated by paramedics before they were taken by ambulance to a hospital, the spokesman said.
The fifth injured person was treated by paramedics on Shelter Island. The five people taken to the hospital were considered “major traumas,” Luque said.
The thoughts and prayers of many Coast Guard personnel were with those affected by this tragic incident, the local commander said in a statement.
“We, along with other agencies: the San Diego Fire Department, the San Diego Harbor Police and the NTSB will conduct a thorough investigation to try to determine what led to this tragedy and what can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Capt. Tom Farris, San Diego sector commander, said in a statement.
The accident occurred during one of San Diego’s longest-running and highest-profile holiday events. More than 80,000 people had been expected to watch the 38th annual procession of lighted boats from anchored vessels and from the shore.
Eyewitness Sandy Fenten was sitting on the Harbor Island shoreline near The Boathouse restaurant when she saw a vessel with its emergency lights flashing speeding on the bay toward downtown San Diego. The boat then turned around and headed back toward Shelter Island when it crashed into the pleasure boat.
“All of a sudden, you heard this tremendous thud or crash,” said Fenten, who moved to the area about a year ago. It was her first boat parade.
“It was going really fast and there were a lot of boats anchored in that area,” Fenten said.
Schoch, who was on the bay with his own boat and a passenger, said he went to to the area to help. Schoch said he used a flashlight to flag down a Sea Tow boat and helped some of the injured people get on it. He said the captain of the damaged pleasure boat kept asking: “How is my son? How is my son?”
The boat was among a dozen anchored on the bay to view the parade. Authorities could not immediately confirm if the boat was moving or anchored at the time of the accident. The parade was delayed for some time while authorities helped the injured.
Initial reports indicate that the five crew members on the Coast Guard vessel were not hurt, Disco said. The Coast Guard boat was responding to a report of a grounded vessel at the time of the accident, she said.
The 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Haddock, that was in the bay for the parade, helped treat some of the injured and took some of them to shore, Disco said.
The damaged pleasure boat was in dry dock Sunday night at a boatyard on Shelter Island and was surrounded by police. While damage to the hull was not immediately visible, it appeared that the boat’s canopy was torn off and hanging to one side.
The parade route started near Shelter Island and went around the bay before the vessels turned around at the San Diego-Coronado Bridge before reaching the finish line near the Coronado Ferry Landing.
